Would you drive an ugly car if it saved the world?
Zero-emissions would be great if they weren’t so hard to look at.
Whether I’m in an Uber to Ealing or walking through Shoreditch on my lunch break, it has become increasingly difficult to go a day without seeing a Prius in London. Toyota’s Prius has become the poster boy of an ever-growing electric vehicle (EV) industry. This growth is mostly fuelled by the threat of global warming, which has forced us to behave in a more sustainable manner when it comes to transport. The graph below illustrates the exponential growth of electric car registrations in the UK.
This increase in demand has been met by an increase in supply, from copycats and innovators alike, such as Honda’s Insight and BMW’s i3, respectively.
I think it’s great that these manufacturers are providing us with greener alternatives, as they allow us all to reduce our carbon footprint and preserve the planet for future generations. However, there’s one thing stopping me from ever wanting to own one of these ‘green’ cars — they’re really ugly. In fact, some EVs are so ugly, it seems that they are intentionally designed this way. Why else would BMW make a car that looks like a toaster on wheels?
So, it seems that manufacturers want these green cars to look completely different from regular cars. Why? Perhaps people want to give others the illusion that they are being ‘green’, or simply just want to own a car that looks futuristic. Either way, I’m not sold. Humans have evolved to desire beauty and enjoy art, and I’m sure most of us wouldn’t drive an ugly car, even if it did save the world.
Thankfully, it seems the paradigm is slowly starting to shift with cars like Tesla’s Model S. Elon Musk’s Tesla seems to have found the perfect mix of function and fashion, producing an electric car that doesn’t look like it’s been battered with an ugly stick. However, with prices starting at roughly £57,000, this isn’t a feasible option, unless you’re JME.
Maybe I should start saving up.
